Variable bit aspect ratios in magnetic media

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a write transducer, an energy source, and a controller. The write transducer is configured to write data to a magnetic recording medium, and the energy source is configured to heat the magnetic recording medium while it is being written to by the write transducer. The controller is coupled to the write transducer and configured to adjust at least an operating power of the energy source to selectably cause bits having variable bit aspect ratios to be written to the magnetic media.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 selecting a bit aspect ratio from first and second bit aspect ratios, the first bit aspect ratio designated for performance and the second bit aspect ratio targeted for capacity; and 
 adjusting an operating power of an energy source of a magnetic recording head to cause bits having the bit aspect ratio to be written to a magnetic recording medium. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the magnetic recording medium comprises first and second zones, and wherein the bit aspect ratio is selected based on which of the first and second zones the bits are to be written. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 receiving a request to read data from the magnetic recording medium; 
 determining a zone associated with the request; 
 determining a target bit aspect ratio associated with the zone; and 
 reading the data using the target bit aspect ratio. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the data is read via at least two read transducers, each of the at least two read transducers configured to read different ones of the first and second bit aspect ratios. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein first and second bits of the first and second bit aspect ratios have different cross-track dimensions. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein first and second bits of the first and second bit aspect ratios have different down-track dimensions. 
     
     
       7. A method, comprising:
 receiving a request to read data from a recording medium comprising two or more zones each associated with different bit aspect ratios; 
 determining a zone associated with the request; 
 determining a target bit aspect ratio associated with the zone; and 
 reading the data using the target bit aspect ratio. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein a first of the two or more zones is designed for performance based on a first bit aspect ratio and a second of the two or more zones is designed for capacity based on a second bit aspect ratio. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the data for at least one of the two or more zones is read using multi-level decoding of adjacent tracks. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the data is read via at least two read transducers, each of the at least two read transducers configured to read different ones of the different bit aspect ratios. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 7 , wherein bits of the different bit aspect ratios have different cross-track dimensions. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 7 , wherein bits of the different bit aspect ratios have different down-track dimensions. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising writing the data with the different bit aspect ratios to the recording medium, wherein adjusting an operating power of an energy source of a magnetic recording head causes bits having the different bit aspect ratios to be written. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising writing the data with the different bit aspect ratios to the recording medium, wherein adjusting a write channel causes bits having the different bit aspect ratios to be written. 
     
     
       15. An apparatus, comprising:
 a controller configured to read data from a recording medium via a read transducer, the recording medium comprising two or more zones each associated with different bit aspect ratios, the controller configured to: 
 receive a read request; 
 determine a zone of the recording medium associated with the read request; 
 determining a target bit aspect ratio associated with the zone; and 
 read the data via the read transducer using the target bit aspect ratio. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein a first of the two or more zones is designed for performance based on a first bit aspect ratio and a second of the two or more zones is designed for capacity based on a second bit aspect ratio. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the data for at least one of the two or more zones is read using multi-level decoding of adjacent tracks. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the read transducer comprises at least two read transducers, each of the at least two read transducers configured to read different ones of the different bit aspect ratios. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein bits of the different bit aspect ratios have different cross-track dimensions. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein bits of the different bit aspect ratios have different down-track dimensions.